Being a chef is intense work. So is being a mom. Being a chef-mother? That’s a next level challenge. Finding a balance between the sometimes conflicting obligations of family and work can be a difficult proposition, and one that is ever evolving, since duties and schedules on both fronts are always shifting.

The struggle between the opposing poles of responsibility begins even before childbirth. Barbara Sibley, chef-owner of La Palapa in New York City (pictured above), remembers the morning her daughter, Arielle, was scheduled to be induced, she was called into the restaurant at the last minute to finalize the Cinco de Mayo specials.

Once a baby is a part of the equation, achieving equilibrium becomes even more problematic. Shortly after pastry chef Megan Garrelts (pictured below) and her husband, Colby Garrelts, opened Bluestem in Kansas City, Missouri, their first child, Madilyn, was born. Though Megan was able to take a few weeks off for maternity leave, she was soon back on the job with the little one in tow. “We had a pack ‘n’ play that we set up in the bar where she slept during the day, since we were only open for dinner,” she says. “I would come out periodically and feed her. We even had a swing in the kitchen at some point.”

Not everyone has the luxury of bringing the baby to work. Executive pastry chef Jennifer Paul of Atlanta’s Canoe, had her son, Jeremy, when she was 19-years-old. The baby’s father didn’t stay in the picture, so she raised him on her own with help from her parents. Within a short time of giving birth, she was baking again, while simultaneously earning an online bachelor’s degree in pastry. She remembers being constantly tired and skipping out on socializing with her colleagues. “People would go out to unwind after their shifts, but I never really did that,” she says. “I had to go straight home to the baby.”

Though Lisa Ito (pictured below) took 12 years off to be a full-time mother, she is now the pastry chef at Umi in Atlanta; her four children are all teenagers. “There are days I only see them for five minutes in the morning before they go to school,” she says, though she always texts or calls them in late afternoon. “When I come home, they’re already asleep.”

Parenthood is a seismic shift no matter how you earn a living, though cheffing presents unique lifestyle alterations. Sibley, who also has a son, Alex, 13, often used to work seven or more days in a row and was on the line. Now she takes off days based on her children’s needs and isn’t on the line. “There are not enough hours in the day,” she says. “You can’t do everything 100 percent and I’m someone who likes to do everything 100 percent. You have to make compromises.”Continue Reading

We are thrilled to announce that OpenTable has been selected as one of the Glassdoor Best Places to Work 2016. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards are based entirely on employee feedback and honor various companies and leaders throughout the world.

The People + Culture team at OpenTable are particularly proud of this honor because it is based on feedback from employees who have voluntarily and anonymously posted their views on Glassdoor, the fastest-growing jobs and recruiting marketplace. To determine the winners of the awards, Glassdoor evaluates all company reviews shared by employees over the past year.

The remarks we have received on Glassdoor have been overwhelmingly positive. OpenTable employees have praised the company for our collaborative environment, great work/life balance, rewarding work, a fun, inclusive culture, and, of course, our awesome happy hours! Below are just a few examples of feedback shared on Glassdoor that contributed toward this win.Continue Reading

OpenTable seats more than 16 million diners each month via online bookings across more than 32,000 restaurants. Our team of talented engineers helps us meet that ever-growing demand, crafting the code that makes life delicious. Daama Sheepo is one of those folks. He’s an over-caffeinated native New Yorker who knows good food, avoids roadside fugu, and wants to eat at State Bird. Meet OpenTabler Daama Sheepo, discover his dining picks, and find out what’s on his plate in today’s Lunch Break.

Name:Daama Sheepo

Hometown:New York City

Job Title:Director of Engineering

What that means that I do at OpenTable:Enable the conversion of caffeine to code.

At OpenTable, we’re always searching for ways to improve the dining experience for guests and restaurants alike. One of our biggest accomplishments in that area is OpenTable mobile payments. Brooks Hassig is part of the team that works on this feature that lets diners settle their checks with just a few taps. He hails from Seattle and Motor City, likes to drink some of his meals (in the healthful way, of course), and he’s a sucker for a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Read on to meet OpenTable employee Brooks Hassig, learn about his picks for local food and drink, and discover what he’s digging into during his work day in today’s Lunch Break.

Name:Brooks Hassig

Hometown:Seattle and Detroit

Job Title:Senior Experience Designer

What that means that I do at OpenTable:I help diners pay with their phones.

Years at OpenTable:0.8Alma mater:Western Washington University

I havenot worked in a restaurant. (But I do like to eat at ’em!)

The food I can’t live without:PB+J sandwiches — I’m a simple man.

The one food I’ll never try: Hákarl — so gross!

My go-to drink or cocktail:Bundaberg Ginger Beer

The delicious dessert I refuse to share:Get your hands off my carrot cake.

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Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines. Caroline is also a Certified Master Gardener.